


This is Your Kingdom

by GeoffsEightGreatestMistakes



Series: Take Back What is Yours [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Injury, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, background relationships tag to avoid spoilers, jackeoff is the main ship, king AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2018-12-05 18:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11583444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeoffsEightGreatestMistakes/pseuds/GeoffsEightGreatestMistakes
Summary: With help from the son of the king’s most trusted advisor, Jack, Geoffrey Ramsey-- the crown prince-- has escaped to the north after rebels have overthrown the king. Their vindictive leader has vowed to rid the kingdom of Leonia from the Ramsey reign, leaving Jack and Geoff terrified in the face of certain death.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ages have been changed. Geoff and Jack are around 28-29, Ryan is 26, and the Lads are 23-24ish. Everyone else has ages around mid-20’s.
> 
>  
> 
> _This can hardly be read as a stand-alone, but the first part is short, it should only take a handful of minutes to read it before you continue this!_

They very quickly grew tired of the walking. They had to keep going though- keep pushing on through the woods, across flat plains, over hills, sludging through creeks. They had to keep going.

Geoff and Jack kept looking over their shoulders, scanning the area, making sure that nobody was following them.

By the time the sun rose, Geoff couldn’t see the capital. He had kept glancing over his shoulder, trying to see the capital. But through the forests and hills that surrounded the city, he never saw it once.

The Ramsey kingdom wasn’t the largest. You could pass through it in a few day’s time on horse. The capital, Achivia, was in the heart of the kingdom, in the center of the thick forests. It was their protection. Beyond the forests were plains and streams and gentle rolling hills. There were mountains to the north, deserts to the southwest. Small farming villages were scattered about the plains. There were a few big cities, but most of the people lived outside the large cities.

After a few hours, they left behind the forests. The sun was well in the sky by now, making their walk much more painful. The sun was harsh on their backs without the forest’s shade.

“Do you think we can stop soon?” Jack asks after a few hours of silence. For the most part, they’ve walked side-by-side without a word. They had just picked a direction and started to walk. There was no need to talk about where you were going if you were only going in a straight line.

“Why?” Geoff glances over. Jack’s making a pained expression.

“My leg.” Jack winces with each step.

“Okay, I think I see a lake in the distance… Do you think you can make it to there?” Geoff points straight ahead. Over the next sloping hill sits a small lake with a few streams branching off it.

“Yeah,” Jack nods. It’s not that far, and he’s already made it out this far. He bites his tongue, powering through the ache. All of this walking has aggravated the gash, making it bleed once more. It’s starting to bleed through the makeshift bandage. He hopes that they’ll stop for awhile at the lake.

They could, since they’re a few hours away from the castle. Nobody had seen what direction they had taken. Jack assumes that it would be a few days before the rebels start sending out search parties… He had seen the rebels fighting; it would take a while for them to look through all of the carnage left behind and see that the prince is missing. Or at least, that’s what Jack hopes. That would give them enough time to get across the kingdom, or potentially _out_ of the kingdom.

Finally, they reach the lake. There’s a few trees dotted around the edge of the lake. Jack happily plops down in the shade of the tree. He leans against the trunk, and lets out a long breath. Geoff doesn’t sit down just yet. He knows the knight had shoved an empty water canteen in his bag. He gets it out, and steps up to the water’s edge to fill it up.

Jack watches him for a few seconds. Without all of the glamour of the prince get-up, Geoff looks like an ordinary person. His hard leather boots are caked in mud. The bottom of his cloak is dirty. His clothes are rumpled and damp with sweat. The only thing prestigious about him is the sword at his side.

Geoff comes back to Jack, offering the canteen.

“You should drink.”

Jack takes the canteen. He takes a swig before holding it back out. “Can you clean my leg?”

“Sure,” Geoff nods. He kneels down on the grass. “I didn’t get to clean it before we left the castle.”

Jack almost wants to look back in the direction they came, but he decides against it. Instead, he lets his eyes shut and his head tilt back to rest against the trunk. He feels Geoff untie the bandage. Geoff makes a little pained noise at the sight of it. The skin is an angry red, irritated by the rough bandage. But Geoff starts to gently clean it off.

“Where are we going to go?” Jack murmurs.

Geoff huffs. He glances up at Jack. “I have no clue… North?”

They’ve already been walking north, as far as Jack can tell. He’s never been the adventuring, survivalist type, but he at least knows how to use the sun as a compass.

“We’re going to hit a town eventually.” Jack opens his eyes, looking down at his leg. He pulls a face at the look of the wound. It’ll definitely scar into something nasty.

“I know.” Geoff bites his lip. “I think we can stop for a night. You can find a healer and I can try to buy us some food.”

“Don’t you think they’ll recognize you?” Jack raises an eyebrow.

“There’s a chance… but you need help or else this’ll get infected. And we can’t starve.” Geoff says. “I may have gone hunting, but hunting for fun on horseback surrounded by guards is different than alone, and for survival.”

He’s got a point there. Jack lets out a long breath.

“Hide your sword then. It’s a dead give away.”

Geoff glances down at his sheath. He purses his lips. No commoner has a sword that nice. The blade is a sharp, almost flawless steel. Along the blade, intricate designs were carved in. The hilt is a darker grey. The intricate design continued up. The very end of the hilt had a sapphire embedded in it; the kingdom’s gem.

“I can keep it under my cloak, but that’s just about it.” Geoff shrugs. “I doubt I can say I was a knight.”

“You can’t. Knight’s swords are generic.” Jack says with some kind of confidence slipping into his words. Geoff glances up at Jack, an eyebrow raised. But he ignores it.

“Dammit.” He curses. He then decides to change the topic.

“With these damn plains, I can’t tell where we are by landmarks.”

Jack nods in agreement. “We are the unluckiest. All the other kingdoms have temples and natural features and the like.”

Geoff gets the feeling that Jack knows a lot more than he’s letting on.

“I think we might be on track to Maleah.” Geoff says. “We’ve been going northwest-ish.”

Maleah was a town that sat northwest of the capital, well out of the forest. It was a decently sized town, where it’s main export was wheat. There was nothing all that special about the town, but the two needed to stop there before going anywhere else. They would need supplies if they were to continue their walk north.

“I guess that’s where we’ll stop?” Jack runs a hand through his hair. It’s damp with sweat and falling in front of his eyes.

“We’ll have to.” Geoff says with some kind of finality. Jack doesn’t say anything else. He makes a little pained grunt when Geoff starts to tie his leg back up with another strip of fabric. It’s tied tight, hopefully putting enough pressure on the wound to get it to stop bleeding.

Neither of them stand. Geoff sits back, washing the blood off his hands with some water from the canteen. Jack’s eyes close once more. He enjoys the gentle breeze rolling in from the plains. The tall grass moves in waves with the wind. It’s tranquil.

Geoff takes the time to see what all is in his pack. The knight had hastily packed it in the dark with whatever was in the prince’s quarters. When starts to pull out its contents, he finds a few pieces of clothes and a little pouch with a fair amount of coins. It hadn’t fit in the bag, but they also had the little lantern Jack had with him. They had blown out the flame once the sun started to rise. There isn’t much oil left inside; it could just barely last through the night.

Geoff roots through the clothes, and he finds the last thing. His crown. He had remembered seeing the knight holding it, but hadn’t realized it had been put in his bag. As if it was made of glass, he takes it out of the bag. He knows the crown has more durability, but his stomach clenches at the thought of damaging it.

It’s one of his few ties to home now. Just this crown and his sword.

He holds it in his hands, turning it slowly in his hands. The sunlight filtering in through the leaves makes the crown glimmer. Geoff’s heart hurts. Next to him, Jack opens his eyes. His lips part, but once he sees the crown, he closes his mouth. Like Geoff, he hadn’t known the crown was in the bag.

“You better hide that well,” Jack whispers. His words are nearly taken by the wind, but Geoff just barely hears him.

“Yes.” Geoff says solemnly. He knows that if anybody sees this, there will be no excuses. The sword could be played off. The crown can’t. But it’s too close to Geoff for him to just let go, leave it behind. He could bury it, perhaps. Though the chances of him remembering where it was placed were slim.

He’ll have to hold onto it, and hide it well.

“We should get moving.” Geoff says after a minute. He decides to put the crown back in his bag. He pushes clothes on top of it, concealing the treasure.

“Give me a few minutes…” Jack murmurs.

“Okay.”

 

\-----------------------

 

They continue their trek north. It’s all rolling hills and flatlands, but stumbling through the grass is exhausting.

This is how the day passes. The two of them walk side-by-side in the middle of the open land. Geoff’s sheer motivation keeps them going. Jack’s leg throbs with every step, and at some point in the afternoon he has to lean onto Geoff to keep upright.

 

\-----------------------

 

It’s nearing night when they see they see buildings in the distance. It must be Maleah. Relief washes over Geoff and Jack. They hobble through the tall grass, eyes locked on the town ahead.

Maleah draws close. Soon, they’re on the very edge of town. There are lanterns hanging in windows of the buildings. Not too many people are walking about. Geoff worries that they’ll stand out, especially since Jack’s limping with a blood-stained cloth wrapped around his shin.

“Our first priority is getting you to a doctor.” Geoff says as they walk down one of the smaller streets. It’s all houses.

“Good- I can barely stand,” Jack’s voice is strained. He keeps wincing and swallowing pained noises. Some time ago, Geoff had put an arm across Jack’s shoulders to help him stay upright.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t stop earlier.” Geoff frowns, and Jack waves him off.

“Don’t- we needed to keep going.” Jack shakes his head. “We need supplies.”

Geoff purses his lips. He still feels bad for making Jack walk so far. Even someone perfectly healthy would have trouble walking such a distance, but somebody injured? Guilt swirls in Geoff’s stomach, but he doesn’t say anything else.

They take a turn a little ways down the road and land on the edges of the main street.

Small businesses line the street. Geoff scans them, trying to find a healer. Fortunately there’s a little one-story building a few down that has a ‘clinic’ sign out in front. The two make their way down there, and Geoff lets out a relieved sigh when the lights are still on inside.

Geoff pushes open the door, holding it open for Jack. The door shuts with a creak, and they’re greeted with a small room. A counter crosses the room with a few doors behind it. Nobody stands behind the counter, and Geoff gets a little concerned.

Jack leans heavily against the counter, trying to take weight off his injured leg. He’s about to call out to see if anyone’s there, but as if on cue, a man appears from one of the doors. He looks vaguely intimidating; sharp brown eyes, a nonplussed expression, and hair braided back from his face. His clothes are stained with… possibly blood. There are dark bags under his eyes, like he hasn't slept for a few days.

“What do you need?” The man’s flat voice matches his expression.

“My friend got shot by an arrow… It needs to be checked out.” Geoff explains, gesturing to Jack. The man raises an eyebrow, scanning Jack carefully. He leans forward, looking over the counter. When he sees the blood-stained makeshift bandage, he nods slowly, humming a little.

“Come on back,” the man pushes open the gate that leads to the back of the clinic. Jack starts to hobble, and Geoff quickly steps forward to help him.

They follow the man into one of the doors. The room’s equally small, but in the middle sits a wide table. Various shelves and smaller workbenches line the left wall, filled with all sorts of bottles and containers.

Without a word, the man gestures for Jack to sit on the table. With help, Jack hops up on the table and lays his leg out. Geoff steps back, leaning against the door as the nurse starts to untie the bandage.

The nurse pulls a face at the sight of the wound.

“How long ago did this happen?” He raises an eyebrow. There's something about his gaze that intimidates Geoff. He glances up at Jack, and it’s obvious that Jack’s deciding on whether or not to lie.

“A few hours ago.” Jack decides to go the honest route.

“Why wait so long? Whoever wrapped it up in the first place did an awful job.” The nurse deadpans. Geoff bites back an annoyed remark.

“You could be at risk for infection.” The nurse studies the gash carefully. “Maybe you already have one.”

Jack looks nervous, and he bites his bottom lip. “We weren’t in town when it happened…”

“Oh,” the nurse nods, suddenly understanding something that Jack and Geoff don’t. “You’re one of those farmers…”

Jack glances at Geoff over the nurse’s shoulder. Geoff just shrugs.

“Well it should be an easy fix. You’ll need stitches and some salve.” The nurse says. He steps up to the shelves, starting to look for a few things. Jack looks a little wary, looking down at his leg. The wound is still an angry red, agitated by all of the walking. He can feel it throbbing.

The nurse has found whatever he needed, and he gets to work on patching up Jack’s leg. Jack makes pained noises as he gets stitched up, face twisted up. Geoff has to look away. He hardly knows Jack; he feels awkward for standing here. But it would be more awkward to leave- leave him alone in the midst of this unknown town where they could be caught at any moment.

The nurse works quickly, fortunately. He’s got a skilled and steady hand, easily sewing up the gash, carefully applying some purple-ish salve, and re-wrapping it in proper bandage.

“I’ll give you a few rolls of this,” he gestures to the bandage. “You’ll have to change it every day or so.”

Jack nods.

“I also recommend you lay off walking. Putting too much strain on your leg might rip the stitches.”

Jack stops himself from sharing a guilty look with Geoff. It’ll be impossible to keep from walking, but he nods anyway.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good.” The nurse offers a few rolls of clean bandage to Geoff. “Now let’s get you out of here. Night’s here and it’s best to be getting home.”

Geoff wishes he could go home… But he pushes those thoughts out of his mind.

“Yes, we’d like to.” He puts on a fake smile. The nurse nods, and leads them back into the main room. Geoff hunts through his bag for the little bag of coins. He finds it after a few seconds, and grabs a couple of coins. He holds it out to the nurse, who looks at him like he’s crazy.

“It’s not that much,” he scoffs out a laugh. “Hell, it’s not even one gold.”

Jack nudges Geoff’s shin with his foot, glaring at him for a second. Geoff seems to have forgotten how rare it is to have gold out here.

“Oh.. right…” Geoff laughs nervously. He looks back through his bag, and fortunately there’s a few copper and iron coins. “An iron works?”

“Yes,” the nurse nods. He’s looking at Geoff expectantly. Geoff nervously offers the coin. The nurse looks at it suspiciously for a second, then he takes it.

“Have a good evening,” the nurse says, scanning Geoff with a vaguely suspicious look. Geoff swallows down the nerves, and he bids the nurse goodbye.

The two leave the clinic, sharing a look as the door closes behind them.

“Gods above, Geoff,” Jack mumbles. “Don’t you remember that gold is rare out here?”

Jack lightly swats at Geoff’s shoulder. Geoff throws his hands up.

“Look I forgot!” He says in his defense. “Now I know… and I won’t pay for a room tonight with gold coins.”

Jack doesn’t seem pleased, but he doesn’t say anything else as the two go searching for an inn. They can go searching for supplies when all of the stores re-open tomorrow morning.

 

An inn is further down the road. It looked homey and comforting, but Geoff and Jack still stayed on guard. A fire was roaring in the hearth. People were scattered around at the tables and at the bar; drinking after a long day. Nobody noticed Geoff and Jack when they entered. They were talking to each other.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” Jack asks quietly. He scans the room quickly.

Geoff pauses, thinking about it. They haven’t eaten all day, and all of the walking on top made Geoff’s stomach rumble at the thought of food.

“Yeah… let’s sit at the bar.” Geoff starts to weave through the round tables to get to the bar. “Sitting by ourselves at a table is noticeable.”

Jack nods in agreement. They reach the bar, and he immediately takes a seat. Whatever salve the nurse used had dulled the pain. Each step was a dull ache, like gently prodding a week old bruise.

Geoff takes the stool next to Jack. He glances over his shoulder, making sure nobody’s staring. When nobody is, a little bit of relief calms the nerves in his stomach. But just like that, his hackles rise when a woman suddenly appears in front of them.

She’s got a big grin on; her entire face is lit up. Her long, umber colored hair falls in loose curls.

“I haven’t seen you two around!” Her tone is just as sweet as her smile. “New in town?”

“Uh… travelling through.” Geoff drums his fingers against the bar.

The woman slowly nods. “Ah… I’m guessing you’d like a nice hot meal? A bed for the night?”

“That would be wonderful.” Jack cracks a smile.

The woman’s bubbliness is infectious. “Sounds good! I’m Lara, and you two are?”

Jack and Geoff keep their nerves hidden.

“I’m Jack, and this is Geoff.” Jack’s voice remains calm. Lara nods, and she tells them she’ll be back soon with dinner before she disappears into the kitchen. Once out of sight, Geoff turns to Jack.

“Is it safe to go by Geoff?” He asks quietly.

“I think it should. You used your full name,” Jack points out. “Besides, it’s a common name.”

Geoff reluctantly nods. His name is quite popular, but still, if somebody happened to know what the prince looked like, and then saw him? If he said his name was Geoff then wouldn’t that be a giveaway?

He sighs quietly, closing his eyes for a few seconds. The warmth of the fire and the quiet hum of voices was peaceful. It almost reminded him of the castle halls; the servants talking quietly as they walked, the knights whistling, the court discussing business… it was comforting.

Eventually, Lara returns with two plates, piled high with lamb, potatoes, and greens. It’s nothing as extravagant as the castle, but the food is still filling. It’s delicious, and once they can’t eat another bite, the two retire to the room they rented for the night.

After walking all day, sleep comes easy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made a map of the kingdom of Leonia to make things easier to visualize! If you're interested in having a look, [here](https://68.media.tumblr.com/ee36a94aa3745b9bce23fdc0ab818c59/tumblr_ouukkaATQC1t8ymwgo1_r1_1280.jpg) it is c:


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing a few chapters ahead, so hopefully I can actually finish this story! (Shouldn't be impossible, right? I have most of the big plot figured out...)
> 
> Also I feel like this is a slow start, and a slow chapter.. but hey, next chapter will be a wild ride ;)

Jack’s already awake when Geoff stirs. Jack’s been awake for quite awhile; he’s sitting up in bed and looking around the room. The room they had gotten only had one bed, but the two were too exhausted to care when they had fallen into bed last night. 

But Geoff stirs, rolling over onto his back. His eyes slowly open, but close almost immediately. The sun’s bright, filtering in through the window and landing directly on the bed. Jack chuckles quietly.

“Morning sleeping beauty.” Jack teases. “Sleep well?”

“Better than I have in a while.” Geoff admits. Before the invasion, Geoff was in the midst of preparing to take the throne. His father was growing old, seemingly aging by the day with all of the stress. While Geoff is of age to take the throne, it didn’t mean he was ready though. All of the meetings, training, and such kept him up late and made him rise early. Sleep was hard to come by, and all of the walking from yesterday had wiped him out completely, making it easy to pass out.

“Good,” Jack hums quietly. “We’ll need all the energy we can get today.”

Geoff groans a little at the thought of continuing to walk. They’re still too close to the capital. If they could walk from Achivia to Maleah in one day, there’s no doubts that knights on horses could catch them in mere hours.

“Gods, I don’t want to think about it,” Geoff runs his hands over his face. “It’s so far until any other town…” 

Jack purses his lips. “I know… but we need to get you out of here if you want to live.”

Geoff nods, obviously annoyed. “I know, I know.”

Jack slowly heaves himself out of bed. His leg has stopped throbbing. A good night’s rest has done the trick. But he knows that after a few hours of walking, it’s going to hurt just as bad as it did yesterday. It’s a shame the nurse hadn’t given him a little bit of that salve that had numbed his leg. 

“Come on,” Jack says. “Get dressed. We should eat something, get supplies, and head out. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

Geoff slowly sits up. He rubs at his eyes, then stretches his arms above his head until he hears his back crack. “Are we going to keep going north?”

“Might as well.” Jack shrugs. “We just need to get as far away from the capital as possible.” 

Geoff slowly nods. “I’ll need a map... Or a compass.”

Jack glances over at Geoff. He stands carefully, gently putting weight on his injured leg. When it doesn’t flare up in pain, he heads over to where Geoff had dumped his bag on the floor. 

“We might need a map, but we can just use the sun,” Jack says. “We don’t need to waste our money on a compass.”

He’s got a point. Geoff hasn’t counted how much he has left, but he’s got to be careful about spending it. In order to get more, he’ll have to steal or get a job. Both are highly risky.

Geoff doesn’t say anything else. They had both slept in their clothes, so they hardly needed to get ready. Once ready, the two left the room and went down the hall that lead to the main room of the inn.

Morning was far less busy. There wasn’t anybody sitting at the tables; just the woman from the night before, Lara, standing behind the bar and wiping it down with a damp rag. The floorboards creak under Jack’s feet, making Lara look up.

Her face splits into a grin when she sees them.

“Good morning,” she greets in a chipper tone. “I hope you slept well! Those mattresses are nothing like what they have in the capital, but we try to keep them nice!”

She jokes, but for a second, Geoff and Jack think they’ve been caught. In seconds, their minds go to the worst possible option. She had known it was them- giving them a cheap dinner and room so that when they woke in the morning there would be guards ready to take them away. 

But her laughter makes those thoughts fade. She had no clue it was them. It was just a joke. 

Geoff lets out a silent, relieved breath, and he steps up to the bar.

“Well I had the best sleep I’ve had in quite a long time,” he says, cracking a smile. 

“That’s what I like to hear,” Lara laughs again, and gestures for them to sit. “Now take a seat. Eat some breakfast before you two head out to wherever you’re headed.”

Jack sits down on one of the stools, and Geoff looks reluctant for half a second before joining him. He doesn’t really want to talk. He wants to eat, get what they need, and be on their merry way. They don’t have time for socializing. For all they know, the rebels could’ve figured out he escaped, and they’re already sending out search parties!

“I’ll give you two a traveler’s breakfast,” Lara sets the damp rag down on the bar. “How does that sound?”

“It sounds lovely,” Jack smiles warmly. Geoff chooses to remain silent. Lara goes into the kitchen a minute later, humming some random tune. Geoff and Jack are now alone in the common room of the inn.

  
  


\-----------------------

 

The two eat then leave the inn. 

Unlike the inn, the outside streets are busy. People are out and about, and all of the stores along the street are open. There’s a bakery, a clothing store, a variety of food stands, and finally, a mercantile store. Just what they’re looking for.

The two slip through the crowd. Their heads are down to avoid eye contact; they hope nobody will recognize them.

The mercantile store is down the street, it only takes a minute to get there. Like the clinic, the store is small and compact. The walls are lined with shelves of supplies. Tables sit all around with items on them. In the back is the counter, where a tan, tall, broad-shouldered man stands. 

Jack waves a little, and Geoff immediately starts to look around at all of their things. Most of it is farming goods, but some are better suited for surviving. 

Jack and Geoff wander a bit, just looking around. Geoff picks up a few things-- a thick bundle of cloth that could be a make-shift tent; oil for Jack’s lantern; a set of flint and steel to make a fire; another canteen for water; and another bag so they can store food. 

After another quick once over of the store’s goods, he steps up to the counter. The man cracks a smile. He pretty much towers over Geoff, but his warm smile stops him from being intimidating. 

“Should be five copper and two iron.” The man says. Geoff nods a little, digging around for coins. Jack stays closer to the door, glancing over a wall of seeds. As they move into early autumn, the seeds are mostly fall crops. 

“Here you go,” Geoff hands over the right amount. He shoves the satchel of coins back into his bag, trying to ignore how light the bag is becoming. He takes his newly bought items, and bids the man behind the counter goodbye with a little nod. The man waves, and Geoff turns to face Jack.

“Let’s go get some food.” Geoff says, gesturing towards the door. Jack nods, and follows him out.

 

\-----------------------

 

The market is crowded. Geoff and Jack blend in easily. Geoff keeps his cloak drawn tight, hiding his sword as they slip through the people. 

The market is an open plaza, filled with an assortment of small stalls. Most are farmers selling their goods, but there are a few more exotic stalls; travelers stopping in town to sell goods from across the kingdoms. If this had been any other occasion, Jack would’ve loved to peruse the goods, looking at the rich culture of the kingdoms he wished he could visit. But now was not the time-- the two were looking for the basics. 

A small loaf of bread, a few vegetables and fruits. They couldn’t take meat, it wouldn’t last long at all. 

They were looking for enough to last them a few days; a few days would be enough for them to reach another town. 

Geoff is looking through a young woman’s homemade breads when he starts to hear murmurs. 

A man walks up to the stall over, chatting with another man. Through the hum of people, Geoff can pick up what they’re saying.

“ _ Did you hear that Edgar’s men succeeded?”  _ The first man says. The second one looks shocked. 

“ _ Really? What happened to the king, the queen? _ ”

“ _ Dead, presumably.”  _ The first man says it so casually, it’s as if he was talking about the weather. “ _ The capital’s on lockdown. Nobody can get in or out… There’s rumors of all of Edgar’s men killing anybody who is disloyal.” _

The words hit Geoff like a tidal wave. He had spent their walk yesterday hoping. He hoped that his parents had escaped, were given the same opportunity he was given. He hoped that Edgar had been defeated. He hoped that his people were safe.

He had been naive to believe that everything was still okay.

The two men move on, the remains of their conversation disappearing into the crowd. Geoff’s locked up. He’s as still as a statue; heart in his throat. He had been unconsciously clinging on to this idea. But the image has shattered, leaving Geoff feeling empty.

He’s jolted by a hand on his shoulder. He jumps, and turns to see who it is. Panic flares in his heart-- he’s terrified it’s guards to take him away.

It’s only Jack, though, with his eyes full of concern and a little unhappy frown on his lips. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Geoff suddenly snatches Jack’s wrists. He locks eyes with Jack, sharp and serious. 

“We need to leave,  _ now _ ,” his voice is low. He leans in, not wanting to be overheard. 

Jack’s concern only grows. “What happened?”

“People are talking. News is getting out of Edgar’s attack,” Geoff’s voice is hurried. “They’ll recognize me. We need to  _ leave _ .”

Jack’s eyes widen for a second. He glances over his shoulder nervously, almost expecting to see those two men again. 

“We’re almost done- just buy some bread then we can leave,” Jack nods, trying his best to assure Geoff. He is as terrified as Geoff-- his heart has picked up speed-- but he tries to remain level-headed. If they panic and rush, it’ll cause a scene.

Geoff weakly nods. He presses the bag of coins into Jack’s palm. “Just pick something-- I don’t care.”

Jack’s face melts into worry, but in seconds it disappears. He nods once, and turns back towards the stall. Geoff tunes out the conversation Jack has with the woman running the stall. He doesn't know or care about what loaf Jack picked, and soon Jack is thanking the woman. Jack takes Geoff’s wrist, leading him through the crowds.

Geoff trails behind like a lost puppy, too tied up in his own thoughts.

 

\-----------------------

 

They waste no time leaving Maleah. They put their new supplies in the second bag, which Jack takes to carry. Then they continue their trek north, walking side by side through the grasslands.

 

\-----------------------

 

There are more clouds in the sky today. Jack thanks the gods above for them. Every few minutes they walk through the shadow of a cloud, getting a short break from the sun’s harsh glare. 

The walk has also gotten flatter. The land is more hilly around the capital’s forests, but the further out you get, the flatter it is. Jack and Geoff no longer have to trek up hills. But all of the walking still irritates Jack’s leg. 

But they had to keep going. As far as Jack and Geoff knew, there were no towns anywhere around, so they would have to set up camp for the evening. 

 

The sun is starting to dip below the horizon when they stop. Jack’s leg is throbbing, and Geoff assumes they’ve walked a good enough distance for the day. 

They’ve been following a stream for some odd hours now, leading them more west than north. But with only two canteens of water, it’s best to keep following the little creek. The shore of the creek is where they stop. 

Jack plops down, reaching for his bag to find another roll of bandages. So far, the fortunately stitches haven’t broken.

Geoff sits down next to him, letting out a long breath. He slips off his cloak and sheath, resting them on the grass next to him. The back of his shirt is drenched in sweat.

“I think I’ve walked more in the past two days than I have in my entire life.” Geoff pants. Jack snorts, glancing up from his leg.

“You’re being overdramatic.”

“Shush,” Geoff waves his hand dismissively. “Just let me be exhausted.”

Jack rolls his eyes. He goes back to replacing the bandage. Silence falls between the two, but neither of them are uncomfortable. Jack replaces his bandage and Geoff starts to look around for stuff to make a fire. 

By the time the sun has disappeared over the horizon, Geoff has a tiny fire going. There were barely any branches around; only a bunch of dry grass. There’s enough for a small flame though.

Jack puts together something small to eat. They eat a little bit of the bread and vegetables, just enough to make their stomachs stop roaring. 

“How did you get out?” Geoff asks suddenly, in the middle of eating. Jack pauses, looking up with a confused expression. 

“What…?” His head tilts ever so slightly.

“How did you get out of the castle?” The thought had been on Geoff’s mind for majority of the day, he just wasn’t in the mood to talk while they walked.

Jack doesn’t know what to say. Geoff watches him carefully. The light from the fire flickers on his face, casting shadows over his eyes. Jack slowly exhales. He lowers his hands into his lap, gently holding a hunk of bread. 

“I… I knew about Edgar coming.” Jack admits. “I had warned my father… I told them that Edgar was coming.”

Geoff listens with horror. Jack doesn’t meet his eye, keeping his head down. 

“I heard rumors in the capital, of the rebels gathering forces. They were taking people off the streets, forcing them to fight for their cause or be killed. They were  _ brutal _ .” Jack’s voice gets shakier and shakier the more he speaks. “I told them all that we needed to be ready, they would come at any time.”

Jack lets out another shaky breath. “It’s obvious that they ignored me… But I knew they were coming. The second the rebels breached the castle, I left. I had found a way out through the servant’s quarters…”

“How did you get shot?” Geoff’s voice is quiet, barely above a whisper.

“There was an archer in the shadows. Somebody had gone through and taken out all of the torches. I think it was the rebels, or some traitor in the castle-- I’m not sure-- but there was a man hiding in the shadows, ready to shoot. He got me in the leg but I kept running, throwing open the door to the servants quarters and running… I don’t know why he didn’t follow.”

Geoff suddenly remembers the man who shot the knight and had nearly hit him twice.

“He found me.” He says suddenly. “The man who shot you, I mean. A knight had come and gotten me from my room. He helped pack up and get me to the servant’s quarters. We were about to get through when he fired.”

Jack finally looks up, locking eyes with Geoff.

“He nearly got me twice, but he got the knight… he sacrificed himself for me to get out.” Geoff whispers. “Then I ran into you.”

Jack slowly nods. “You did.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Geoff sighs heavily. “You didn’t have to come all this way with me… You could’ve stayed in Maleah--”

“It’s fine Geoff,” Jack cuts in gently. “I wanted to come with you.”

Geoff licks his lips slowly. He doesn’t know  _ why  _ Jack would follow him across the kingdom. They hardly knew each other! And Jack’s hurt, it’s painful to be walking this far. 

“We can slow down a bit tomorrow, so you don’t get as hurt.” Geoff offers. Jack shakes his head.

“You don’t need to.”

Geoff purses his lips and furrows his eyebrows. “We’re already a good ways away from the capital. We can slow down.”

“It’s okay, Geoff.” Jack’s voice has a sudden sharp note. Geoff flinches a little, making Jack backtrack. “Sorry- I’ll be fine though. We can keep going tomorrow.”

“If you’re sure…” Geoff looks wary. Even if guards come after them on horse, they’ve gone far enough to slow the pace. Jack glances up from his leg, meeting Geoff’s eyes. 

“I’ll be fine.” His voice is quiet. 

“Okay.” Geoff nods once. A little smile graces his lips. “Thanks for coming with me Jack… I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had to do this alone.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” Jack laughs a little. “But you’re welcome.”

Geoff leans over, rubbing circles into Jack’s back. Jack smiles too, leaning closer to Geoff. With a pleasant silence, the two continue eating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [tumblr](http://geoffs-8-greatest-mistakes.tumblr.com/)! Send me some prompts, since I'm reaching out of my comfort zone with some new works in both ah/rt and other fandoms c:


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alfredo joined the AH family, so some edits were changed and now he’ll be in here c:

A high pitched, sharp yelp startles Jack awake. In a second, he’s sitting up and blearily rubbing his eyes.

“What’s going on?” He grumbles. He lowers his hands, and sees Geoff over by the edge of the stream, slowly backing away from the water.

“A-A snake!” Geoff screeches.

Jack rolls his eyes, snorting. He pushes himself off the ground, coming up to Geoff. 

“It’s not going to hurt you if you leave the damn thing alone,” he laughs a little, following Geoff’s gaze. 

The snake isn’t even all that big… it’s maybe ten inches long and about as thick as Jack’s thumb. It’s just a baby snake, curled up on a rock, half in the water.

“ _ Kill it! _ ” Geoff screeches again.

“It’s a cute baby water snake, you’re fine.” Jack nudges Geoff’s side with his elbow.

“ _ Cute? _ ” Geoff throws his hands up. “It’s a goddamn  _ snake _ !”

“You’re more dangerous to it than it is to you,” Jack rolls his eyes. “Just leave it alone and it won’t attack you.”

Geoff’s eyes are wide with panic. He shakes his head, looking up at Jack nervously. “What if it comes after me- what if-” 

“ _ Relax _ , it’s a water snake. It’s not going to come after you.” Jack cuts in, laughing softly. “Now come on, we’ve got to start walking.” 

Geoff looks distressed, but he lets Jack pull him away from the shore. His eyes are locked on the snake. He glances away from one second, and when he looks back, the snake has disappeared. He makes a whiney noise of distress, making Jack laugh once more. 

“Calm down!” Jack teases. “We’ve probably passed a dozen snakes by now.”

Geoff yelps again, jolting in fear. His eyes shoot around the grasslands, as if he’ll see half a dozen snakes in the tall grass. 

“ _ Shut up _ !” His voice cracks. “You’re not  _ helping _ !”

Jack just shrugs, laughing softly. He bends down, grabbing his his bag. 

They had both slept on the ground, which was awfully uncomfortable, but it was better than nothing. 

With an annoyed huff, Geoff picks up his bag and sheathed sword. He slings the bag over his shoulder, and the sheath sits at his waist. He stands up straight, stretching his arms above his head. His back cracks and he lets out a satisfied hum. 

He scans the grasslands, looking out at the seemingly endless waves of golden tall grass. Things are darker today, there’s more clouds in the sky. Geoff purses his lips, eyebrows furrowing.

“Do those look like rain clouds?” He turns to Jack. Jack’s shoving the used bandage in his bag, and he pause when Geoff speaks.

He too looks at the clouds, and looks a little concerned.

“Maybe?” He draws out the word, unsure. “We should get going then-- see if we can hit a town before it starts raining… or at least find some shelter.”

Geoff nods in agreement. He stamps out the remains of the fire. It had dulled into glowing embers during the night, but he would hate to accidentally start a brush fire. He then checks their water canteens, making sure they’re full.

Jack takes one last sweeping glance of the area, and then the two take off; still heading north.

 

\-----------------------

 

Darker clouds roll in as the day passes. The sky is covered in grey; not a hint of blue sky can be seen. If there wasn’t the threat of rain, Geoff and Jack would’ve been happy to have the sun off their backs. But the clouds get darker and thicker, making their concern grow.

They can’t tell what time it is, specifically, or what direction they’re going. As far as they know, it’s mid-afternoon, and they’re still heading north. The two are still following the stream. Some time ago it had pooled into a decently sized lake, but then narrowed into a small river. 

There’s still nothing to be seen through the grass, until Jack suddenly pulls Geoff back a step.

“Hey watch it--” Jack’s voice is sharp. Geoff looks confused, and he looks down. 

Just two feet in front of him is a sudden drop off. Hidden in the tall grass, they hadn’t seen the thin ravine. Geoff estimates that it’s about thirty feet across, and is quite long. Geoff can’t judge how long.

Next to them, the river tumbled into the ravine. The sounds of rushing water echoed through the caverns below.

In perfect sync, the two leaned over the side to gaze into the depths below. The narrow ravine was deep. The water had made a small pool below with a few smaller streams running further into the caves. The walls were marked with holes, looking as if the minerals inside had been mined out. In the shadows, Jack swore he could see remains of minecart tracks.

“Looks like we’re getting close to a mining town,” Jack murmurs. Geoff slowly nods in agreement. He remembers being taught of the geography of the kingdom as a child. The northern parts of the plains were dotted with small ravines. Tiny mining towns had been placed close by, but once the ravine had been picked clean, the inhabitants tended to move on to other villages. 

“It’s probably abandoned… that’s not really helpful,” Geoff comments. He looks up from the ravine, looking around to see how to get around it. “And now that we lost our stream… I hope we’re still going to be going north.”

Jack glances up at the sky. There isn’t a hint of blue sky or sun. He purses his lips, vaguely annoyed. 

“I think we’ll still be heading in the right direction,” Jack says after a minute.

“Well as long as we’re not going south, we should be fine,” Geoff shrugs. Jack nods a little, since Geoff isn’t exactly wrong.

“Let’s keep moving. Maybe we can find that mining town,” Jack sighs softly. Geoff hums for a few seconds.

The two look down at the ravine one last time. They’re right in the middle of the ravine, so going left or right will still be quite a trek. They decide to go left, so they don’t have to trudge through the river. 

The two walk along the side of the ravine. Occasionally, they glance up at the sky. Either the sun is setting, or the clouds are getting darker.

They finally reach the end of the ravine after a good ten minutes. Geoff pauses, looking over the edge. The ravine looks like it continues further underground. But Geoff can’t see too far into it. He leans forward a tiny bit more, trying to see more.

A ways ahead of him, Jack stops when he realizes Geoff has stopped. 

“What are you looking at?” He calls, turning to see Geoff. Geoff looks up from the ravine. His lips part, about to say something, but then the ground below him rumbles. 

His eyes widen into the size of saucers. His eyes shoot back down, just as the ground starts to shift.

Jack watches this, horror quickly filling him. 

Geoff’s frozen with panic-- he can’t  _ move _ \-- he knows he needs to, but his legs are refusing--

He lets out a scream when the ground below him vanishes. He falls. A heavy  _ thud _ echoes through the ravine a second later.

Jack rushes forward, rushing to the hole Geoff had disappeared into. He stumbles at its edge, almost falling in after Geoff. 

“ _ Geoff! _ ” He screams. He falls onto his knees; the jolt of pain from his injury and from his knees hitting the ground is sharp, but he has no choice to ignore it. “ _ Geoff _ !”

The rocks underneath Geoff’s feet had crumbled. They had already been weak, but Geoff’s weight had done it. It was at least a twenty foot drop. Half of the rocks had fallen further into the ravine, the other half had landed on a ledge.

Twenty feet straight down, on the little ledge, laid Geoff. He looks dazed. Eyes are bleary, looking straight up but focusing on nothing. He is still, and Jack hopes to the gods above that he hasn’t been killed.

“Geoff!” He screams once more. His voice is already going hoarse-- breath loud in his own ears-- heart in throat-- stomach in knots. “Geoff  _ please _ , please speak to me.”

Below, Geoff slowly blinks. The world is blurry. His back aches. His left shoulder is throbbing. He hears Jack’s screams, but it sounds like he’s underwater. The words are distorted and distant. He slowly blinks once more. Everything feels like it’s spinning. 

“Oh god, oh god,” Jack’s hyperventilating. He looks away, trying to find some way down there. It’s too far too jump, and even if he would be okay with jumping, how would he get Geoff out? He can’t climb down, the walls are bare of any hand-holds. He can’t-- he can’t fucking  _ think _ . Panic is coursing through him, making it impossible to think without jumping to the worst case scenario.

Ahead of him, he can see a little path that leads down ravine. It’s right before the ravine dips further into the earth. It must’ve been carved into the earth, but he isn’t complaining. In seconds he’s up on his feet, sprinting towards the path. 

He stumbles over his own feet as he rushes down the path. It’s narrow, twisting around to let out on the ledge Geoff is laying on. 

He sees Geoff in front of him. Geoff has gone still. 

“Geoff- Geoff, can you hear me?” Jack’s out of breath. He has to slow down. He has to watch his footing; one wrong step and he’ll go tumbling further into the ravine. “Geoff?” 

The ledge gets narrower before it gets wider. Jack has to clutch the stone wall, shuffling his feet along. 

His eyes flick between his feet and Geoff. Geoff’s chest is still rising; he’s still breathing, bless the gods. 

The ledge widens out, finally. Geoff is sprawled out, one leg almost over the edge. Shuffling forward, Jack almost trips over a smaller stone that had fallen with Geoff. He kneels down, trying to be wary of the forming bruises from just a minute ago. 

“Geoff,” Jack repeats for what feels like the millionth time. “I’m right here.”

Some kind of pathetic, pained, involuntary groan comes out of Geoff. Jack leans over him. Dazed, Geoff’s eyes move. He blinks once, twice, then coughs.

“Are you with me?” Jack asks. He tries his best to keep his voice level, but fear seeps into his words.

“Yes.” Geoff rasps. A wave of relief washes over Jack. They’re not completely okay just yet, but it’s better than Geoff not responding.

“Did you hit your head?” Jack starts checking for wounds. There’s a few small slices from sharp stones. Bruises are forming; there is no doubt that Geoff’s back will be a mottled mess. 

“A little…” Geoff speaks slowly. “I think it was shock…” 

“Good, good,” Jack sits up, placing hands on Geoff’s sides. He gently prods, trying to see if there’s any faults in his ribs. When all seems to be in order, he starts to help Geoff up.

Geoff tries to push himself up, but the second weight is put on his left arm, he crumples back to the ground. A pained noise leaves him; a sharp fire feels like it’s burning his arm.

“What--” Jack bites out.

“My shoulder,” Geoff groans. Jack doesn’t quite know what to do. He can handle simple cuts and the like, but if Geoff broke, dislocated, or tore something? He would have to wait until they hit another town.

“Okay, let me help you up.” Jack is careful to not take Geoff’s left arm. He sets a hand on Geoff’s side, gently bringing up up onto his knees, then to his feet. Swaying dangerously, Geoff clenches his eyes shut once he stands.

He feels dizzy all of the sudden, a dull throb behind his eyes. 

“Can you walk?” Jack asks. He keeps his eyes locked on Geoff; trying to not focus on the horrifying thought of Geoff toppling over into the ravine below.

“I think…” Geoff groans. “My back… shoulder... head… are killing me.” 

Jack shakily nods, “okay, okay.”

Peeking open his eyes, Geoff lets Jack start to carefully lead him out of the ravine. He drags his feet, nearly stumbling over the uneven surface of the ledge. They make it back to the path out, and Jack makes Geoff go first. 

Once out of the ravine, Jack feels his chest lighten. They aren’t completely safe yet-- they’re out in the middle of nowhere and Jack fears that Geoff has injured his head.

And as if on cue, the sky above them rumbles. Both pairs of eyes slowly look up.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Geoff mumbles. Jack sighs heavily. 

The clouds have turned a dark grey. A late summer storm is rolling in.

“We need to get going-- that mining town should be nearby.” Jack says quickly, starting to walk. “Abandoned or not, we can have a roof over our heads.” 

Geoff stays close to Jack. He doesn’t think he broke anything, but his feet and legs ache from the impact of falling. Hopefully it’s just some bruises. 

The two, much to their reluctance, have to pick up the pace in attempts to beat the clouds above them. 

 

\-----------------------

 

Either the day has passed quicker than they thought, or the dark clouds swirling above have made it darker quicker. Soon, night begins to fall. 

They walk as fast as they can; quickly leaving the ravine behind. But the mining town is farther out than Geoff and Jack had hoped. As they walked, the sky kept rumbling. The breeze started to pick up, blowing against their backs. That means the storm is following them though.

It’s by a stroke of misfortune that the second Jack swears he sees lights in the distance, the clouds above them finally split open. A rumble of thunder rolls through the clouds. The rain starts to fall. It begins as a drizzle.

“Come on,” Jack urges on, squinting his eyes to try and see through the rain. “I swear I see lights.”

Geoff looks up. He’s kept his head bowed, eyes on the grass in attempts to not trip over anything. He looks up, and for a second he can see the lights.

“I’m trying,” he groans. Each step jostles his shoulder. The dull throb is steadily getting worse.

Mustering some strength and determination, Jack keeps pushing on. He keeps Geoff close, intent on making it to the village as fast as possible.

The rain thickens. The lights ahead flicker through the golden grass and blur through the rain. But they draw closer, with each step.

Lightning cracks above their head. The world flashes white for a split second, then the two are cast in darkness once more. In the dark they stumble more, tripping over roots and stones. Jack nearly slips a few times. The sudden storm has slickened the dirt. 

It is a struggle, but at long last, the lights take shape. They can see houses through the thick of the rain. This is their saving grace. They are soaked to the bone, limbs sore, stomachs growling, eyes drooping with exhaustion… the list goes on.

Neither of them know what town this is, but it doesn’t matter as the two stumble up to the town’s edge. 

It’s an incredibly tiny town. It looks to be just one big square, just four streets. With the dark of night and the sheet of rain, they can’t tell how many buildings there are. Jack and Geoff hobble down one of the streets, eyes squinted as they try and decipher the signs in front of the buildings. All they need is an inn, a pub, somewhere to sleep.

It’s a blessing that it only takes a few minutes to find one. The sign above the door reads  _ The Hole _ , with ‘inn and pub’ painted sloppily below it, as if added on after the sign had been hung.

Jack pushes in the door, not caring about being soaking wet. The warmth of the inn hits him. He lets out a long breath, about to say something to Geoff, but Geoff slips away, falling to the ground with a heavy  _ thud _ . 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Their main goal during their escape was to not get caught. That meant not making a scene or drawing attention to themselves. This idea had been thrown out the window the second Geoff had collapsed on the floor of some unknown inn in some unknown town.

 

\-----------------------

 

Admittedly, the inn was quite empty when Jack and Geoff had entered. It was quite small and quaint, only a handful of small tables and a narrow little bar on one wall. The other had a wide hearth with a fire roaring inside. Opposite from the door they entered in was a stairwell that lead upstairs, presumably to rooms.

Only a few people had been seated, due to the storms raging outside. But all eyes had turned to Geoff and Jack when Geoff had hit the floor with a heavy  _ thud _ .

“ _ Geoff _ -” Jack gasps. Almost immediately, he’s on his knees next to Geoff. Geoff’s on his back, eyes shut. His chest is still rising and falling. 

He hears a few chairs screech against the floor, and people are suddenly surrounding him. 

“Gods above.” Someone curses to Jack’s left. “What happened to him?”

“He had a nasty fall, hurt his shoulder and possibly his head,” Jack’s voice wavers with nervousness. “Can you get him a healer?” 

He looks up from Geoff, meeting eyes with the man who spoke. The man is young, long hay-colored hair tied back, and eyes a bright blue. 

“In this storm I’m not sure he can come…” The man purses his lips. He looks up, meeting eyes with another man, one with brown hair cropped short. “Jeremy, try and fetch Andy.”

The other man nods, and heads off towards the door. Jack watches him for a second, then his eyes turn back to Geoff. Geoff’s eyelids flicker, eyes moving underneath.

“How’d this happen?” A woman asks. Her face his full of concern with loose, dark brown curls framing it.

Somehow, Jack starts to panic even more. How does he explain what the hell happened earlier?  _ Oh yes, we were walking through the middle of nowhere and he fell into a ravine, as you do _ … no! That doesn’t just  _ happen _ \-- Geoff has already draw enough attention to the two of them, but Jack telling the truth will only make it worse.

But Jack doesn’t get to respond. Below him, Geoff’s eyes slowly open. He groans a little, slowly blinking. 

“Geoff…” Jack’s voice is soft. The people around him had been murmuring, but once Geoff had woken up, they had all gone silent. 

Geoff blearily looks up. He looks dazed. 

“Jack?” It’s a little raspy, but Jack nods enthusiastically. 

“I’m right here Geoff,” Jack assures him in a soft tone. “How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted…” Geoff mumbles. Jack purses his lips. He’s about to say something but the door behind them swings open sharply, the crack of it hitting the wall almost sounds like lightning.

The whole group turns, looking at Jeremy as he entered with another man at his side. It must be Andy; a bag slung over his shoulder and pretty much overflowing with all sorts of tools and trinkets. Both of them are soaked to the bone.

“He’s come to,” Jack says to Andy once he’s over. Andy pulls a face and waves his hands, shooing the crowd away. The strangers all back up; they watch in the corner of their eyes as they move back to their tables.

“What happened?” Andy asks, kneeling down and dropping his bag on the floor. A few things spill out, but he doesn’t bother picking them up and shoving them back in. 

“Fainted from exhaustion I think,” Jack assumes. Andy makes some sort of huffing noise. Geoff is watching him carefully. 

“He’s also hurt his shoulder. Left one.” Jack informs. “He couldn’t move it all that well.”

“Well first we need to get him off the floor…” Andy starts. “Move him up to one of the rooms,  _ then  _ I can treat him.”

The man from earlier, the one who told Jeremy to get Andy, steps forward. “I can help bring him up, if you’d like.”

“Thanks Ryan, that’d be great.” Andy says sharply, leaving Jack or Geoff no time to respond. Geoff looks vaguely annoyed, but it very quickly changes to pain when Ryan and Jack carefully get Geoff up. The two are careful to not jostle Geoff’s injuries as they help him upstairs to one of the empty rooms.

 

\-----------------------

 

Thank the gods above that Andy didn’t want to hear any reasons why Geoff had gotten injured. He just wanted to know what was hurting and when told Geoff had fallen, all he had asked was how far he had fallen and what he landed on.

Knowing the full story wasn’t required, bless the gods. But after being told this information, he promptly kicked Jack out, stating he worked better without anyone in the room.

Jack had been peeved, but he cared more about Geoff than himself. Geoff had helped him escape the castle, had given him companionship, helped him with his own injuries; it’s time that he helped Geoff by giving him what he needed.

That being said, that left Jack in the common room of the inn. Since Geoff had been hauled up to the room, the people sitting around had thinned. The storm outside had gotten worse. Rain pounded on the building, like a thousand drums beating. Thunder rumbled, and lightning lit up the sky. Most had left for their homes, leaving just two men sitting at the bar, a woman behind the bar, and one lone man sitting by the fire. Ryan sat at the bar, accompanied by a thin man with jet black hair. Jeremy sat by the fire, trying to warm up after being out in the storm. The woman with the brown curls stood behind the bar, chatting with the two men.

Jack had sat down at the bar, leaving a few chairs between him and the two men. They were laughing about something, but Jack couldn’t hear the specifics. After a few minutes, the woman came over to him.

She had on a gentle smile. “New in town?”

Jack looks confused for half a second. But this woman is observant-- she notices and laughs a little.

“We hardly ever get any visitors here,” she explains.

“What town is this?” Jack asks, biting his lip for a second. “My friend and I didn’t have a map, and we stumbled into the first town we saw.”

“Amberwell.” The woman says. “Not many have heard of us.”

Jack slowly nods. He thinks he’s heard of Amberwell once or twice. It had been mentioned in his history studies as a child. It was a tiny mining town in the northern tip of the kingdom, rich for the redstone in the caves around. But those caves dried up eventually, and it fell off the map. It never became a full-fledged farming town; it survived on a few other smaller trades. Once kingdoms had opened up more trade, paths had led from the capital to the other kingdoms. The little town lay just west of the large Baron Woods, and the main path leading out of the kingdom went south of the woods instead of north, leaving Amberwell just a tiny town. 

As far as Jack can remember, he doesn’t think a Ramsey has been to Amberwell in decades. They should be safe here for the mean time. They could take a few days for the storm to pass, their injuries to heal, and their bodies to rest. 

“I’m afraid I haven’t.” Jack admits with a little laugh. The woman smiles.

“My name’s Steffie,” she greets. “You should know if you’re going to be around for a bit. With this storm and your friend’s injuries, you’re stuck here.”

She says it with an amused tone.

“I’m Jack, and my friend is Geoff.” He responds. A little smile crosses his lips.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Steffie sets her hands on the bar. “Now, how would you like a nice hot meal? You’re absolutely soaked.”

Jack nods happily. “That sounds wonderful.”

Steffie disappears back into the kitchen. Jack takes a moment to breathe. The past few hours have been a rush. Geoff’s fall into the ravine, the storm hitting them, and Geoff’s collapse… it was such a whirlwind that Jack can hardly believe all that as happened.

In fact, hardly  _ any  _ of this makes sense. Rebels overthrowing the throne, killing dozens to take control, Jack and Geoff running off in the middle of the night, the two of them walking for days… Jack has no clue how his life had ended up here.

He had  _ warned  _ his father. He had pushed at his father, then turning to the king. He pleaded for them to listen-- there was an uprising planned. He hadn’t known the details, but he had witnessed rebels recruiting townspeople to join their forces. Rebels were taking people by  _ force _ . Homeless were being snatched off the streets. Lost children were being taken. Those travelling alone had been attacked.

Disappearances were racking up. He researched deeply; finally coming to his father with enough information to hopefully convince his father. But he had been brushed off. He had been told there were more pressing matters to deal with.

He had known this rebellion was coming… but despite knowing for weeks, he was still shocked all of this had happened. Some childish part in his mind had clutched on to the idea that the king’s army would be able to kill the rebels. 

It is now obvious that the king’s army was in no way prepared for the uprising.

 

\-----------------------

 

While waiting for Andy to finish up, Jack ate and chatted with Steffie. She was awfully nice, talking about all sorts of things going on town. She told him about a few people. The two men by the bar were Ryan, the man from earlier, and Trevor, who co-owned the inn. The other owner was Matt, but he wasn’t working tonight. The man cozied up by the fire was Jeremy, the town’s most recent addition from the western mountains.

A few others were described. There was Gavin, a wild young thing from the deserts and had easily charmed his way into the hearts of the town. Michael and Lindsay were the town sweethearts, the blacksmith and the clothier. Lastly, there was Alfredo, an apothecary who had rumors trailing him of some more  _ suspicious _ goods in his supplies.

Jack had taken all of this in, providing a few pieces of information on him and Geoff. He had been careful, twisting the truth to hide their identity. He talked about people he knew from the castle, but twisted it so they sounded like neighbors instead of servants, advisers, or courtiers.

Steffie had asked him where he was from, and he lied and said in a small town a little west of the capital. She made a face, saying that they were a long way from home. Jack had shrugged. From there, their discussion moved on to a different topic.

 

\-----------------------

 

Andy came down after some time. Jack had finished eating. Steffie had wandered off. Jeremy and Ryan had left together, and Trevor disappeared into the back room. Jack was sitting alone, content with just relaxing to the sounds of the fire crackling in the hearth and the rain drumming on the inn.

Andy saddled up in the chair next to him, setting his bag on the floor. He sighed, and turned to Jack.

“He fainted from exhaustion.” He explains simply. He sets his arms on the table, leaning forward. “His shoulder was dislocated. I put it back in place and he’s in a sling to keep it still. It’ll just take a week or so to heal up properly. He also doesn’t have a concussion, it’s just a headache.”

Jack slowly nods. “Why were you up there for so long?”

“He kept bitching about the pain and refusing to sit still.” Andy rolls his eyes. 

Jack laughs quietly. “Sounds like Geoff…” 

“What happened to your leg?” Andy suddenly asks. Jack’s kind of startled by the sudden question. He raises his eyebrows for a second, and glances down at his leg.

“Just scraped it open. It’s stitched up though.” He decides to lie. Geoff fainting from exhaustion was bad enough, but saying he got shot? That’d just draw more attention. 

Andy slowly nods, and he sighs once more before heaving himself off the chair.

“Well I better be heading out.” He stoops to pick up his bag. “I’ll be back in a day or two to check up on him… there were a few suspicious bruises…”

Jack bites his bottom lip. He waves a little, watching Andy leave the inn. The creak of the door shutting is covered by a deep rumble of thunder. 

Jack lets out a long breath. Now he’s alone. He supposes that it’s time he gets some rest. The stress of the day was exhausting.

 

\-----------------------

 

Geoff had no clue when he had drifted off. It was sometime when Andy was checking over his bruises. His arm had been set, and he had drifted off now that the pain had dulled. 

He also had no clue when he woke up. It was still storming outside; the thick clouds blocked the sky and made the world look dark. He just assumed he had slept a long time, judging by how refreshed he felt. 

He still felt awful. He felt unwashed, sore, and tired. His muscles ached from the walking and his feet felt like they were weighed down with lead. 

Slowly, his eyes cracked open. Next to him, Jack huffs in his sleep. Geoff looks over, but Jack’s got his back to him. He sighs a bit, and slowly sits up. His arm is in a sling, making it kind of hard to get up. 

He leans back against the headboard, glancing around the room. It’s nothing special. Blank, off-white walls, a bed in the center, a window on one wall and a door on the opposite. A wardrobe sits across from the bed. They hadn’t bothered to unpack; their two bags sit on the floor, slumped against the closed wardrobe.

If their injuries and the storm are anything to go by, they’ll be here for longer than they’d like. 

Geoff purses his lips. It feels nice to finally be back in a bed. Last night’s rough sleep on the ground had made his neck and back ache, but the injuries of falling into the ravine had only made it worse. Fortunately, a good night’s sleep and whatever else Andy had treated him with has helped considerably.

Jack shifts in his sleep. He’s still completely asleep though. 

Geoff quickly grows tired of just sitting there, so he carefully pushes himself out of bed. His left arm and shoulder are immobile, and his legs shake as he stands. He’s not in the best condition, but for now it’ll have to do. 

He glances down at himself. His clothes are tattered, torn, and dirt smudged. The last time he bathed was before they left the castle, and he’s been wearing the same set of clothes their entire journey. He pulls a face, then he remembers he has a change of clothes packed in one of the bags.

As careful as he can, he changes clothes. He tries his best to not jostle his shoulder, which makes changing shirts  _ extremely  _ difficult. But somehow he manages to change. Slipping on his boots, he gets ready to head downstairs.

Jack deserves to rest, so Geoff doesn’t bother him as he slips out of the room. He steps into the hall, closing the door behind him with a quiet creak. Voices from downstairs echo up the stairs and down the halls. It sounds like laughter.

The floorboards creak under Geoff’s feet. He makes his way downstairs, stomach rumbling. Along with the voices, the smell of something delicious and sweet wafts through the air. 

He makes his way downstairs, stepping into the main room of the inn. A few people are sitting at the bar, voices loud and cheerful as they joke with each other. Geoff hesitantly approaches. He’s close to the bar when the woman behind it turns towards him.

“Are you Geoff?” She asks, then laughs at Geoff’s perplexed expression. “Jack told me who you were.”

For a second Geoff panics. He seems to be doing that a lot lately, internally freaking out at the fear of being found out. 

“Uh… yes?” Geoff says, unsure. The woman laughs again, and she holds out her hand.

“I’m Steffie.” She greets.

Geoff hesitantly takes it, giving her a firm shake before politely letting go. Steffie smiles warmly, gesturing to the people sitting at the bar.

“This is Matt, Trevor, and Jeremy.”

All three of them wave, nearly in sync. Geoff waves back, murmuring a greeting.

“Now sit, sit!” Steffie pats the bar, right in front of an empty seat. “I’m trying this new pastry.. With what was it, Nerr fruit?” She asks Jeremy, snapping her fingers a few times as she tries to think of it.

“Yeah,” Jeremy nods.

Geoff takes the seat Steffie offered, which was right next to Jeremy.

“I grow exotic fruits,” Jeremy explains, meeting Geoff’s eye. Geoff slowly nods. That makes sense. Nerr fruit hardly sounds familiar, but if the smells from the kitchen are anything to go by, it’ll be something sweet.

“I just harvested some Nerr fruit and Steffie promised she’d make something with them. They’re sweet enough that you don’t need to add any extra sugar,” Jeremy says.

“ _ Allegedly _ ,” Trevor cuts in. “You didn’t try it before giving it to her… if I get sick I’m blaming you.”

Trevor points a finger at Jeremy, glaring at him. But it’s obvious that it’s just light-hearted joking.

“You’ll be fine,” Jeremy waves a hand dismissively. 

Geoff laughs a little, watching the two argue like an old married couple. 

At least if he had to be stuck in a small town for an undetermined amount of time, it was with a group of (hopefully) nice people. 

 

\-----------------------

 

They very quickly run into a problem. 

Steffie had given them the first night at the inn for free, along with the breakfast, but the rest they would need to pay for. Their problem came when Jack dug out the little bag of coins. 

He shook it out, just a few coins falling into his palm. One gold and two copper. While a gold was worth a lot, they couldn’t use it without drawing even more attention to themselves. And two copper barely bought anything these days. They would need some money and  _ fast _ .

“Are we going to stay here?” Geoff asks after they go back up to their room after eating breakfast. Steffie’s Nerr fruit pastries had been filling, and fortunately on the house. 

Jack purses his lips, looking at the three small coins in his palm. “I’m not sure…”

Geoff looks worried, and he carefully sits on the edge of the bed. He’s trying his best to not jostle his shoulder.

“We’d need to find some coin before we leave.” Jack sighs heavily. He puts the coins back into the little bag, and pulls the string to draw it closed. “We can barely buy enough food to get us to the next town.”

Geoff bites his lip, looking over at the window. The sky is still dark from the storm. It’s obvious that this is going to take a few days to pass.

“We’re in Amberwell, right?” He asks, looking over to Jack, who nods.

“I don’t think any Ramsey has been here in decades. We’re on the outskirts of the kingdom too…” He pauses. “I think we can stay for a bit. Let our injuries heal, rest, get some money and supplies, and we’ll figure out where to go from there.”

Jack doesn’t respond right away. He thinks it over, holding the small sack of coins in his hands. 

“I guess we could stay,” Jack says quietly. “We’re far enough out that we can rest for a bit.”

The idea of not having to walk for the entire day in the middle of nowhere is awfully good. Geoff cracks a smile, and he lets out a relieved breath.

“Thank the gods, I need to just  _ relax _ . I think I’ve walked more in the past few days than I have in my  _ lifetime _ .”

Jack rolls his eyes. He bends down, putting the sack of coins back into his bag. “You’re being overdramatic.”

Geoff just shrugs. He decides to lay back down, settling in the warm quilts. There’s not much to do with the storm raging outside. Jack decides to pick up both bags and bring them over to the bed. He sits next to Geoff, carefully taking out all the bag’s contents and sorting it, just to give him something to do.

The time passes peacefully. The rain pounds against the window and occasionally the sky lights up with a strike of lightning, followed by a deep rumble of thunder. It’s relaxing, and Geoff starts to drift off once more.

“Where do you think we can get jobs?” Jack asks quietly. Sleepily, Geoff cracks open his eyes.

“Ask around, maybe?” He bites back a yawn. “There’s bound to be somebody needing help.”

Jack thinks about it for a few seconds, then he nods. “I guess so.”

Geoff looks up at him for a few more seconds, then he yawns and lets his eyes slip shut. He shifts, getting comfortable before drifting off. 

Jack continues sorting through all of their things, listening to Geoff’s deep, regular breaths.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's uh... it's been awhile. I think I might possibly be back on track??? Don't expect frequent updates though, hahaha.

Jack isn’t quite sure how he got to this little farm tucked behind Jeremy’s house. He had just mentioned that he and Geoff were looking for some coin, and now he stands amongst the lush green plants.

The storm had passed after another day, and the second Jack had stepped into the mainroom of the inn, Jeremy had taken him and led him across the small town to his cramped little cottage. He had been led around the side of the cottage, and the grasslands had transformed into what could only be accurately described as a jungle.

The garden was lined with trellises in full bloom. Wood beams crisscrossed the roof of the garden, vines wrapping around them. Plant beds were scattered about, but they were overgrown with thriving plants. There seemed to be no order in how the garden was planned out. It was a mess of vibrant greens, purples, blues, yellows, and just about every color imaginable. 

Somehow, it seemed to make sense to Jeremy, who weaved through the groups of plants with ease. He pointed out plants to Jack, explaining to him what needed to be done. All Jack would be doing was maintaining the plants. Jeremy would deal with most of the harvesting and the shipping off of the harvests. 

But each plant seemed to need some sort of special treatment. A specific amount of water, a certain fertilizer, a way of weeding. It didn’t help that next to none of these plants were familiar. Every name Jeremy gave him was something he didn’t think  _ existed. _

Money was money though, and Jack was going to figure out this maze of greenery. 

He had been given a watering can, and directed to the equally cramped shed of supplies. Jeremy had to go inside for a bit, leaving Jack alone. He wandered at first, not really doing much as he just took in all of the color.

This was a nice change from all of the flat grasslands. A breeze was filtering in through the trellises, and the floral smell wasn’t too overwhelming. It was refreshing. Jack vaguely missed all of the green-- the forest surrounding the capital had been thriving in the midst of summer. All of this green felt comforting.

He finally decided to start, starting from the far right corner of the small garden and moving towards the front. 

“So where did you two come from?” Jeremy’s sudden voice makes Jack jump and nearly drop the watering can. He whirls around, seeing Jeremy leaning against one of the poles holding up the wooden beams.

At Jack’s reaction, Jeremy laughs a bit. 

“Sorry,” he cracks a smile.

“It’s okay.” Jack feels grossly familiar panic rise in his chest at the question. “And uh… we’re from down south, near the capital.” 

Jeremy raises an eyebrow. “Long way from home.”

“Yeah…” Jack slowly nods. He shifts. He feels like he’s being too obvious. Jeremy knows that something’s up, that he’s lying. But Jeremy just shrugs, stepping up to Jack’s side.

“I guess I’m pretty far too… You know Amoroy?” Jeremy asks. Jack nods.

Amoroy is quickly growing. It was a town nestled in the base of the Crinhell Range; a mountain range running across the northeastern part of the kingdom and acts as the border between Leonia and the neighboring kingdom. Amoroy is a big mining town, rich in ores from the mountains. It’s growing quickly as the mines get deeper. But with rapid expansion comes problems. It’s arguably the most dangerous city in the kingdom.

“Yes… what brought you north?” Jack asks. 

“My work,” Jeremy answers simply. “Some of these plants need a  _ very  _ specific type of soil, and Amberwell has it,” he pauses, “and it does help that it’s safer.”

Jack feels kind of bad all of the sudden. He kind of feels like he’s disrupted the peace… once they’re found out, this little town will be under Edgar’s attack.

But instead of saying anything about that, he nods.

“They’re beautiful plants,” he says as he skims the forest around him. “I don’t think I’ve seen any of these before.”

“They’re plants only few can grow right… A lot of ‘em are very picky about their conditions,” Jeremy jokes. “They’re practically my kids at this point, I’ve coddled them so much.”

Jack laughs at that. “Nothing wrong with that.” 

Jeremy nods, and he claps a hand on Jack’s back. “Thanks for helping out then. There’s so much going on that having an extra set of hands will be helpful.”

“It’s no problem,” Jack waves a hand. “Just let me know if you need anything else.”

“Can do,” Jeremy nods. “I’ll leave you to it, I’ve got to go deliver some things.”

Jack nods in response, and watches as Jeremy disappears into the maze of plants. He hears distant footsteps on the cobblestone path, and once those disappear he turns back to the plants. 

 

\-----------------------

 

Since the storm had finally passed, Geoff was able to walk around the town. He hadn’t gotten a good look around when they were coming in, since it was dark, storming, and they were just trying to find a place to rest.

The town was peaceful and quaint. It was mostly a square; four dirt roads formed a square. Houses were interspersed with businesses along the roads. Nestled in the center of the square, set back from the road, was a cramped looking two story building. Geoff assumed is was the town hall as he passed by it. 

Amberwell was peaceful. Now that the storm had stopped, people were walking about and doing their daily business. A few people Geoff recognized from the inn. He had been introduced to Trevor, Matt, Steffie, Andy, and Ryan. He had been told about Jeremy, but had yet to meet him, despite Jeremy stealing Jack away to work. A few other names had been thrown around.

But Geoff wanders around a bit. The past two days of rest has made it easier to walk around. The aches in his feet have faded and his legs no longer feel stiff. 

He stills in front of a small shop. It’s got a wooden sign next to the door; a potion bottle painted on the wood with the words ‘ _ Haywood’s Elixirs’ _ scrawled below. Geoff scans the storefront. The windows looking in are small, and look like they’re covered with shelves. He can see bottles sitting on the shelf, all full with a variety of colored liquids. Some look like they’re glowing, others look dull and murky. 

He’s kind of confused on why a potion shop would be out here. The art of making potions is a skill few can do well. Potion makers are fairly easy to find in the capital, but their potions don’t do much of anything. Most are just water with some coloring added to; just a means to make easy money. Just the fact that it’s a potion gives comfort to unknowing civilians. 

The  _ good  _ potion makers take far more time to find. The king had searched far and wide for the best maker, and brought him to the castle. Geoff had known the man for most of his life, but hadn’t ever drank a potion. 

Which leads Geoff to why he’s confused on why a little potion shop would be this far north. He’s traveled across the kingdom, to majority of the bigger cities, and it was only the capital that seemed to care about potion making. But Geoff figured he could check it out.

He had taken one step up onto the shop’s porch when the door swung open. Out steps a tall, thin man with short black hair. He’s got on a thick cloak, despite it being the summertime, and a hefty looking back slung over a shoulder. 

The man meets Geoff’s eyes, and he seems to perk up.

“You’re one of those new guys, right?” The man asks as he nudges the door to the shop closed with his foot.

He’s just one step above Geoff, but it seems like he’s towering over Geoff. It’s vaguely intimidating. It’s also intimidating that it seems like everybody Geoff sees knows him already. Some voice in the back of his mind is telling him that this isn’t a good thing.

“Uh… yes?” It comes out like a question, making the stranger laugh a little. 

He comes down to Geoff’s step. Despite being on the same step, the stranger is still a bit taller than him. 

“Ryan was telling me about you two,” the stranger says. 

“Good things I hope?” Geoff tries to play off his nervousness with a half-hearted joke.

“Yeah of course,” the stranger claps a hand on Geoff’s shoulder. “Just that Jeremy roped your friend into working for him.”

He laughs like there’s some catch to it, something that both him and Jack are missing. But when the stranger doesn’t explain any further, Geoff chooses to ignore it.

“Money is money,” Geoff shrugs. “But uh… who are you?”

“Name’s Alfredo,” the stranger slides his hand off Geoff’s shoulder, holding it out for Geoff to take. Geoff nearly hesitates, but damn if he wasn’t raised with good manners. He shakes anyway.

“It’s Geoff,” he offers in return. Alfredo cracks a smile.

“Nice to meet you Geoff,” he pulls his hand back. He shifts his bag, pulling it over his front. “I gotta get going though, things to deliver.”

Geoff nods a little. “Nice meeting you then.”

“Same to you,” Alfredo nods once. He steps down, about to head out. But then he pauses and turns.

“Just ask around if you need anything, I’ve got just about everything,” he winks, and leans in close, as if to share a secret. “Between you and me, I just got in some alkoh mushrooms, and  _ damn  _ that’s some good shit.” 

Geoff’s eyes widen, but he quickly hides it by looking away. 

“Uh… thanks, but I’ll pass.” He laughs nervously. Alfredo laughs at his reaction, and he waves a bit before heading out down the road. Geoff looks back at him, but it’s like he’s disappeared into thin air. He lets out a long breath.

_ Alkoh mushrooms _ . 

Those are some nasty shrooms,  _ illegal  _ shrooms. They’ll get you high for sure, but take just a tiny bit too much and it could be fatal. They’ve gotten so bad that they’re banned in most kingdoms. Geoff can’t help but think that telling the  _ crown prince _ that wasn’t a good idea. If he’d been at the capital, he could’ve turned Alfredo in for drug possession.

Well, Alfredo is safe due to distance from the capital, and the fact that if Geoff turned Alfredo in, he’d also be turning himself in. He figures he’d let this fly, since from what he’s seen so far, Amberwell is pretty independent from the rest of the kingdom. 

But Geoff decides to move on. He shakes his head a bit, as if he was dismissing the thoughts from his mind. Then he turns, back towards the potion shop. He steps up onto the porch, and pushes open the door.

The store is just as cramped as the windows made it look. Shelves are everywhere, brimming with glass bottles and vials. It’s an array of color, each grouped together and labeled with scrawling handwriting. 

Geoff wanders through the shop. It’s two aisles, lined with shelves. In the back there appears to be a messy desk full of papers, and a set of double doors leading into backrooms. There’s nobody to be seen, which kind of worries Geoff. But he doesn’t try and call out. Instead, he glances through the shelves.

There’s potions of strength, invisibility, harming, waterbreathing… the list goes on and on. If all of these worked to perfection, Ryan could possibly be better than his father’s trusted potion brewer. 

A sudden bang comes from one of the backrooms. Geoff jolts at the noise, looking warily at the doors in the back. Nothing happens at first. The shop goes quiet, the doors don’t open, and there are no voices.

Geoff goes back to looking at the shelves. He jumps against at the sharp crack of the doors being thrown open. There stands Ryan. Goggles sit over his eyes, and some kind of pale blue fog ( _ smoke _ ?) rolls out on the floor behind him. Geoff’s eyes widen, watching as Ryan kind of gasps and pulls the goggles off. He throws them on the messy desk, nearly taking out a pile of loose papers.

Geoff silently watches as Ryan moves. Ryan props the doors open with thick books, and moves over to the desk. He’s muttering to himself, scribbling down notes. The pale blue fog clings to the floor, rolling through the small shop. It slowly dissipates.

Geoff is kind of concerned on if it’s safe to be breathing right now. He takes a step forward. The floorboards creak, making Ryan pause. He looks over his shoulder, jolting when he sees Geoff.

“How long have you been there?” Ryan fully turns to face Geoff. 

“Not long… but kind of enough to see you burst through the doors.” Geoff admits.

Ryan sighs heavily, fingers rubbing right below his eyes. Unknowingly, he leaves a vibrant blue smear across his cheeks. 

“Failed brew.” He leans against the desk, which creaks in a way that  _ definitely  _ isn’t safe. “Those waterwalking potions are so damn  _ finicky _ . I thought I had the recipe down but half the time it doesn’t work.”

Geoff’s eyes are locked on the desk for a few seconds, expecting it to suddenly collapse. But somehow it stays standing, and he looks up at Ryan.

“I wish I could say I knew how to make them,” Geoff shrugs. “But I’m not of much assistance.”

Ryan waves a hand, leaning off the desk. He goes around the other side, starting to dig through the stacks of paper. Geoff takes a second to glance through the doors. It leads into some kind of dark room, lit by an eerie blue glow. The fog rolling out of the room has dissipated. 

“It’s fine,” Ryan says, a bit distracted as he hunts through the mess on the desk. “I’m really the only potion brewer this far north.”

Geoff slowly nods. He comes up to the desk, but stays back just far enough to not disturb Ryan. 

“I’d think more people would be visiting you then.” Geoff comments. His eyes trail after Ryan’s hands, which are sorting through the thick books, overflowing workbooks, and precarious stacks of paper with some sort of practice ease.

“That’s why I ended up here,” Ryan laughs vaguely. “Less people visit me so I can focus on my work.”

“Makes sense…” Geoff murmurs.

Ryan glances up at Geoff. There’s some weird look in his eye. It’s like he’s trying to decipher Geoff, like a specimen to be studied. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I love it up here.” Ryan shrugs. His eyes go back to the desk. “There’s a few… things… tying me here.”

It’s a vague statement. Geoff knows there’s something under the surface. But he doesn’t know Ryan well enough to ask. It’s not his place to.

“Oh…” Geoff slowly nods. “Well… I’ll leave you to it. You look pretty damn busy.”

“I’m always busy. But it’s okay Geoff, I’ve been wanting to have a word with you.” Ryan cracks a smile, but for some reason Geoff feels uneasy.

“About…?” He shifts, feeling his stomach kind of roll with nerves.

“Oh nothing in particular.” Ryan laughs a little. “Just a friendly conversation. Isn’t that what you do in small towns? Get to know everyone?”

The way his smile grows makes the discomfort worse. But Geoff hides it, laughing (albeit awkwardly). 

“I suppose so.” He shrugs too. “But I should continue my wandering, since we’re going to be in town for quite some time.”

“Well have fun,” Ryan grins, and he seems to have found whatever he was looking for. It was a small sheet of paper, covered in a thin scrawl, the words spilling over from the front and onto the back. He makes a noise of triumph, and promptly disappears into the back room. On his way through, he nudges the books out of the way and the doors swing shut behind him.

With the dramatic entrance and exit and the conversation they just had, something about Ryan is off. 

Deciding to not dwell on it, Geoff doesn’t hesitate on leaving the shop.

 

\-----------------------

 

Despite the distance between them in the capital, the news of the overthrow got to them eventually.

It’s been nearly two weeks since Edgar’s men invaded, and Jack and Geoff have been hiding out in Amberwell for about a week and a half. It isn’t shocking that the news reached them, but it was still unsettling… to say the least.

While the town was far north and ran with little interference from the crown, the news set the town abuzz; as if they were expecting Edgar’s men to march into the town and take them too. 

At first people didn’t believe the rumors were true. They couldn’t believe the crown had fallen, the king taken out by rebels, and the ruthless Edgar had taken his place. It was unfortunate that Geoff and Jack were there during the attack, and could confirm the brutality, but couldn’t speak without outting themselves. 

It was terrifying. 

They heard the rumors circle the town as they went about their day. Jeremy talked to Jack about it while they worked; forcing Jack to make stilted conversation. Geoff stuck around the inn, hearing the townspeople come in and out, all talking about it. 

It was terrifying.

It felt like any second they could be found out. 

One wrong move. One wrong word. One careless mistake.

Anything could get them caught. Geoff could only pray to the gods above that nobody suspected him as the missing prince.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, hit me up on [tumblr](http://geoffs-8-greatest-mistakes.tumblr.com/)! You can send me prompts, comment on fics I've written, rant about ideas, or literally anything c:
> 
> Edit: I've made a map of the kingdom of Leonia to make things a bit easier to imagine! For those interested in seeing it, [here](https://68.media.tumblr.com/ee36a94aa3745b9bce23fdc0ab818c59/tumblr_ouukkaATQC1t8ymwgo1_r1_1280.jpg) it is!


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